April 13, 2006 Minutes (City Commission Room, City Hall)
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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Jeanette Collier, Donna Duncan, Janet Gerstner, Paula Gilchrist, Carol Nalbandian, Mike Randolph, Kirsten Roussel, Patti Welty |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
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marci francisco, Curtis Harris, Greg Moore |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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Lesley Rigney and Margene Swarts |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
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Robert Baker |
Roussel called the meeting to order at 5:45 pm.
Introductions
Members and staff introduced themselves.
Approval of March 9, 2006 Minutes
Gilchrist moved to approve the March 9, 2006 minutes. Gerstner seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Miscellaneous Items/Calendar
Nalbandian asked if the Committee would need to meet following the May 2 City Commission (CC) meeting.
Swarts said not unless the CC gives the Committee further direction or there is other business to discuss.
Roussel suggested canceling the April 27 meeting and meeting May 4 if needed to act on any CC direction and to set forth plans for summer.
The Committee agreed to cancel meetings for April 27 and May 11 and to schedule a meeting for May 4.
Swarts announced that National Community Development week is next week. Staff will be present at the CC meeting and the Committee and those present will be recognized.
Roussel clarified that the May 2 CC Meeting would start at 6:35 pm.
Swarts said yes.
Recess Meeting to Conduct Public Hearing
Roussel stated the Committee would recess the meeting for the Public Hearing. The Committee recessed at 5:55.
Reconvene Meeting
Roussel reconvened the meeting at 6:20.
Discussion/Changes if necessary
Nalbandian stated she was surprised that zero-funded and severely cut agencies did not show up to argue their cases. She is impressed that people are so grateful even when the Committee had to cut their allocation.
Roussel agreed.
Gerstner stated it was heart-breaking. She appreciates that agencies realize the difficulty of the decisions made by the Committee.
Gilchrist stated she is concerned with the cuts to city programs and worries about the impacts of future funding cuts.
Nalbandian asked if the trend in Washington DC was to pay for more projects and less administration.
Swarts said some believe the trend is to eliminate CDBG. Some people think that by cutting CDBG to a low enough level, it will become easier to cut it out altogether.
Collier asked about the American Dream Down Payment Initiative (ADDI) funds.
Swarts said that everything that can be done with ADDI, which the City does not receive, can be done with CDBG and HOME funds. Over the years, staff has looked closely at programs to evaluate efficiency. Lynn Goodell, former Neighborhood Resources Director, used to say that with CDBG you are only limited by your imagination. That has been borne out in this program. As the pot dwindles it gets less and less effective. There are no other comparable programs. CDBG is to provide assistance to low and moderate income citizens and to eliminate slum and blight. HOME is for the development of affordable housing. There are no other programs addressing these needs and low and moderate income people are being left further behind. There is a new Housing Needs Task Force (HNTF) that has been formed since the Community Housing Assessment Team (CHAT) was convened. One of CHAT’s recommendations was to continue with current programs and we are beginning to lose the ability to do that.
Nalbandian asked if for the Committee as a whole, they wish to fund everything at a lower level or to emphasize a particular area.
Roussel said that will be a good discussion for the summer months.
Public Comment
There was none.
Adjourn
There being no further business, Gilchrist moved to adjourn the meeting. Randolph seconded the motion, which passed. The meeting adjourned at 6:30 pm.